Baseball charges through Big 4 consolation round

After losing in the first round of the Big 4 tournament to St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, the Bulls came back strong to finish third.

Freshman pitcher Tony Kurtz pitched eight solid innings in his first career start to give the Bulls a 10-3 win over rival Niagara.

In control from the first pitch, the right-hander dominated the Purple Eagles, allowing just two earned runs off of five hits. Kurtz also struck out six Niagara batters on the night.

Bulls coach Bill Breene also praised his players' production on offense.

"I was glad to see us finally break out offensively," he said. "We hit the ball (Wednesday) like we were capable of hitting."

The Bulls were able to load the bases in the second inning after a double by sophomore second baseman Al Barbato advanced designated hitter Aaron Otto, who Niagara had walked. When a pitch hit outfielder Andy Wengert, Tony Tasner stepped up with a line drive single to score Otto and give the junior his second RBI of the season.

A double play followed by a popup sent the Bulls back to the field, but Kurtz quickly retired the side to keep the momentum going strong.

Purple Eagles pitcher Chris Cerchie lost control in the third inning, hitting two batters, and singled sophomore catcher Dan Quinn to bring a runner home. Two errors and a botched rundown allowed Quinn to score.

A wild pitch with the bases loaded ended up in a rundown situation that Barbato outran. A throwing error from the shortstop was the final throw that let Quinn score.

Late in the fourth inning, Niagara finally got on the scoreboard with an RBI single by Jeff Vincent.

The Bulls answered back as both Phil Vanhorne and shortstop Joe Mihalics singled. An error advanced the runners and Quinn brought them both home with a line drive up the middle.

Two Buffalo errors allowed Niagara another run, but pitcher Kurtz was able to settle down, striking out Dan Parsons to end the threat.

Reliever Justin Quance did little to slow down the Bulls' dominant hitting when the Eagles brought him in to start the bottom of the seventh. Wengert added another RBI single, after Quance walked Quinn and Barbato. Another walk loaded the bases with one out.

Niagara quickly replaced Quance, brining in Jim Boyack with hopes of regaining control of what was quickly turning into a UB blowout. At the plate, freshman Mike Folli singled to score another run. Mihalics and Kingsley followed suit, as they both singled, scoring another run for the Bulls.

Kurtz allowed just one more hit, as Andrew MacNevin doubled to left-center in the eighth inning. A sacrifice fly scored the runner before the side was retired. In the bottom half of the inning, Barbato responded quickly by shooting a triple down the right-field line and scoring on a groundout.

The freshman, who had until now been used primarily as a closer, increased his record to an impressive 4-2 on the season.

The win against Niagara came after a Buffalo loss to St. Bonaventure Tuesday in the first round of the Big 4 Classic.

In the contest against St. Bonaventure, Buffalo got on the board first when shortstop Mihalics singled to right to start the fourth inning. The senior tallied his fifth stolen base of the year by taking second and scored when designated hitter David Amaro singled to center with two outs.

In the bottom of the frame, St. Bonaventure was able to answer back as Joe Rizzo doubled, setting up a two-run home run by Damian Blakely.

The Bulls tied it up in the fifth, as Wengert singled to start the inning. A sacrifice fly advanced the senior to second base and a throwing error brought him to third. A sac fly scored the center fielder.

The Bonnies broke the 2-2 deadlock in the bottom of the fifth inning. Mat Mardeusz led off with an infield single and took third on a groundball double over the third baseman's head.

An RBI by Craig King after a perfect "safety squeeze" followed by another run scored off a single by 2004 Freshman All-American Brian Pelligrinni gave St. Bonaventure a 4-2 lead. Another run scored in the sixth padded the lead for the Bonnies.

Buffalo kept with the status quo in this tournament; they had the same basic results this year they had last year.

"Last year we ended up winning the consolation game on the second day," explained Breene. "We lost 11-10 to Niagara last year in the opener then beat Canisius in the second game."

Breene said that overall he was pleased with the weekend because the Bulls' hitting got back on track. He said that is what has been missing for the team during its recent struggles.

"Quite frankly, in this slump we've been in, it's been the lack of offense that has caused us to lose seven of the last nine games," he said, "The team's excited and feeling better about themselves. You've got to feel good when you go out there."